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Extra pressure on NHS if Civil Liability Bill goes ahead

The NHS will be left to pick up the tab for people with catastrophic injuries if Government plans to cut injury compensation go ahead.

The warning comes from lawyers ahead of a debate on the Civil Liability Bill in the House of Commons tomorrow (4 September).

“The Bill seeks to change how compensation is calculated for people with life-changing injuries, such as brain or spinal damage. The upshot is that people will almost certainly receive less compensation and will have to make risky investments with it to try to make it stretch for the rest of their lives. There is every likelihood that the funding will run out, leaving people to rely on the NHS for their care,” said Brett Dixon, president of the not-for-profit Association of Personal Injury lawyers (APIL) which represents injured people and their families.

“Many of those who support this legislation believe it will reduce the NHS’s own compensation bill. But the cost falls back on the NHS anyway when people run out of the compensation which is supposed to pay for their care. The big difference is that if the Civil Liability Bill goes ahead, the NHS will not only have to pay for its own negligence but for everyone else’s as well. That includes employers who cause serious injuries at work, or negligent drivers who cause life-changing injuries to other motorists. It’s absolutely right that the NHS should pay for its own negligence, but not for everyone else’s as well.”

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Notes to editors:

APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) is a not-for-profit organisation whose members are dedicated to campaigning for improvements in the law to help people who are injured or become ill through no fault of their own.